A 22-year veteran of Adelman Travel Group, Bob Chaiken was promoted to chief executive officer in February. Within his tenure at Adelman Travel, he has fulfilled a number of leadership roles, including business manager, controller, chief financial officer, chief operating officer and president.
Chaiken, who is a certified public accountant and a certified travel consultant, also has experience working in real estate development, finance and information technology.
He joined Adelman Travel about five years into its operations with an ambition to make a lasting impact in the industry.
“I wanted to be part of a small management team that really would be able to affect change and make a difference there,” Chaiken said.
He immediately realized that possibility at Adelman Travel after meeting with founder and current chairman Craig Adelman as well as Craig’s late father, Ollie Adelman, who served as chairman emeritus for the company and helped design and construct its headquarters in Glendale.
“I really could see that they had a real strong sense of urgency getting things done, growing the company, and I knew that would lead to growth and opportunities,” Chaiken said.
Chaiken, himself, travels two to three times a month for business and about once a month for leisure. Among his top travel destinations is Maui.
Looking ahead, Chaiken has a vision to continue focusing on employee development in order to continue the company’s momentum of growth.
“We really have a great group from the management team and travel consultants and all the support functions that have been here a long time and many of them have moved into different positions,” Chaiken said. “And part of that is moving them into the right positions that match really where their skills are and their interests are.”
“That’s how we’ve been able to grow,” he said. “Without that, we couldn’t have grown.”
